Gun Policy News

Firearm law, small arms regulation and gun control

In the decade and a half since Australia initiated the policy, the number of firearms per person has stayed constant, and gun deaths have remained low.
Sometimes a tragedy is so awful that it changes the national debate. The 1996 Dunblane school shooting in Scotland and the 2011 Norwegian gun massacre all prompted an outpouring of anguish and a demand for changes in law. In Australia, that moment was the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a gunman killed 35 people at... (GunPolicy.org)

The National Rifle Association is distancing itself from an article on its website that called demonstrations by gun rights advocates who brandished weapons in public "scary" and "weird," and that said such advocates had "crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness."
The article and the subsequent denunciations in the past week are an unusual public disagreement inside the N.R.A. about the tactics of protesters, particularly in Texas, who have shown up... (GunPolicy.org)

Regional campaigners against the global arms trade say Pacific Island countries should follow Samoa's lead and ratify a landmark international treaty.
Samoa is the first among Pacific Island countries to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty which seeks to thwart the flow of arms to conflict regions.
Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have signed but ratification is needed in order to be bound by the UN agreement's rules.
Samoa's move brings to 40 the number of states... (GunPolicy.org)

Bruce Montague was a northern Ontario firearms dealer so opposed to Canada's licensing laws that he stopped registering his guns in protest and dared the government to come after him.
Be careful what you wish for. Ten years later, the 54-year-old's act of what he saw as "civil disobedience" has resulted in an 18-month jail sentence, a lifetime ban from operating his trade and now he's just been ordered to hand over his $100,000 gun collection — his life savings —... (GunPolicy.org)

The import of guns and bullets into Bhutan has been banned from this month.
The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) made this announcement in the media and on its website, earlier this month.
In its announcement, RBP referred to section 11 of the Fire Arms and Ammunition Act 1990, which bans the import of firearms and ammunition by the general public, for its recent decision.
However, section 11 does allow for the purchase and import of ammunition for "authorised... (GunPolicy.org)

KINGSTON - The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) says 60 children were murdered here during the period January 2013 to May this year.
The JCF said, in addition, 99 children were shot and injured by criminals during the same period.
According to the statistics released by the JCF, over the last two months, seven children between the ages seven and 17 years were murdered while one was shot and injured.
As a result, the police are calling on all citizens to redouble... (GunPolicy.org)

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," said National Rifle Association chieftain Wayne LaPierre. Unless, apparently, the good guy with a gun is in Texas and obeying the state's open-carry law while hunting down some Mexican food or a cup of joe.
According to a May 30 post on the NRA website, exercising one's rights in such a manner is, well, a little weird.
It's hard to imagine where open-carry advocates got the notion that they... (GunPolicy.org)

The last couple of months have been rough for proponents of open-carry gun laws. No fewer than seven restaurant chains have taken a stand against firearms being brought to their businesses, after activists in Texas conducted provocative demonstrations in which they toted semi-automatic rifles into various eateries. Texas law allows rifles (though not handguns) to be carried on display in public, but some patrons and employees were unnerved and angered by the... (GunPolicy.org)

Canberra, A.C.T - Illegally traded conventional weapons claim more than half a million victims every year. These weapons kill, maim and disable, undermine economic prosperity and development, and keep millions of people, especially women and children, trapped in fear.
Australia will this week ratify the first legally binding instrument ever negotiated in the UN to establish common standards for the international transfer of conventional arms, the Arms Trade Treaty.
In... (GunPolicy.org)

AN ESTIMATED $30 million worth of guns and ammunition have been taken off the streets of Jamaica since the start of the year.
Police data from January 1 to May 24, this year, has shown that 250 firearms and 3,417 rounds of ammunition have been recovered.
And on Thursday of this week, the cops confirmed that another nine guns and more than 1,000 rounds were seized in St Catherine.
A breakdown of the guns confiscated, as indicated by the police statistics, showed that... (GunPolicy.org)

There are about 84,000 guns and more than 141,000 shotguns legally held in Scotland, according to new statistics.
The numbers are up on the previous year's figures, with the increase the first seen in five years.
However, the rise in the number of certificates for guns is in part due to a change in what is recorded as a "firearm".
The number of shotguns held on certificate is the highest for the past 10 years.
Firearm and shotgun certificates must be renewed every... (GunPolicy.org)

Are Mass Shootings Increasing? Depends on How You Count Them
Criminologists have made the same point again and again: the number of mass shootings in America is not increasing. Experts told the Los Angeles Times that mass shootings represent only a small fraction of the annual deaths due to gun violence, and that police data indicate that the overall count of mass shootings per year has not shown any significant increase over time. This conclusion is based on the FBI's... (GunPolicy.org)

Timaru police are urging firearm users to abide by a change in gun laws.
People with semi-automatic firearms fitted with free-standing pistol grips must contact police urgently to ensure they meet the new requirements.
The guns were reclassified as military style semi-automatic firearms in December last year.
Anyone with such a firearm has until June 11 to apply for an endorsement on their existing licence specific to the guns. Alternatively they can change the... (GunPolicy.org)

Even before the massacre of six people in Santa Barbara had reached its bloody conclusion, the Great American Gun debate was taking shape. Some headlines described a deranged lunatic intent on retribution against women. Others honed in on the premeditated nature of the killing spree and argued that better armed civilians could have prevented the carnage. Still more highlighted how access to a semi-automatic pistol dramatically increased the number of dead and injured.... (GunPolicy.org)

The death of seven young adults, including the suspected shooter, in a Santa Barbara rampage Friday has once again made Americans take a painful look at the country's gun culture and laws.
During a press conference Saturday, Richard Martinez — the father of one of the victims, Chris Martinez — lashed out at the National Rifle Association and politicians who have continued to block tougher gun legislation.
"Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven,... (GunPolicy.org)

Mixed in with prayers and sympathy after the Isla Vista shooting and stabbing rampage in Santa Barbara County were renewed calls Saturday to pass stronger gun control legislation.
"Although the circumstances of this attack are under investigation, we do know that real solutions exist to prevent most of the 90 gun deaths that happen in our nation every day, and that those solutions are supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans," said Dan Gross, president of... (GunPolicy.org)

The Palmer United Party (PUP) has introduced legislation to Queensland Parliament proposing to regulate the creation and possession of 3D printed firearms.
If passed, the laws would be an Australian first, making it a punishable offence to make, buy or possess 3D firearms.
PUP MP Carl Judge told State Parliament last night he was concerned the new printing method could be used by criminals.
Mr Judge said the private member's bill included a licensing scheme, as well... (GunPolicy.org)

When Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson put out a 558-count indictment against six firearms traffickers who conspired to sell illegal guns here, all 155 of the weapons recovered by the NYPD came from one place: Georgia.
If you think you've heard this story before, you have. Last September, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. indicted an individual who had illegally trafficked a huge stockpile of guns — via the post office — here from Georgia.
As... (GunPolicy.org)

It's a question at the heart of the gun debate. Most Americans think the answer is yes (an overwhelming majority continues to support comprehensive background checks for gun buyers), while the National Rifle Association emphatically believes the opposite (its leadership opposes new firearm regulations of virtually any kind). Now, a new report from the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety crunches some actual data: Citing figures from the FBI, the gun-reform group... (GunPolicy.org)

Earlier this year the Government of Belize indicated interest in revising the gun laws after a series of controversies, including the release of public officer Reynaldo Verde from a mooted firearm charge and the release of Police Corporal Gino Peck after a little-used section of the law was implemented.
But planned consultations have not taken place and the People's United Party (PUP) proposed amendments have not been responded to.
Today the party said it would... (GunPolicy.org)

Poor Ernst Mauch. The managing director of Armatix GmbH, a German firearms maker, appears to believe in "a market-driven approach to firearms safety." Unfortunately, the forces that shape the roughly $4 billion U.S. civilian guns and ammunition industry are increasingly political.
Armatix makes the iP1 "smart gun," which communicates with a wristwatch to identify its authorized user and makes it impossible for anyone but the gun's owner to fire it. Given that there are... (GunPolicy.org)

1. "Owning our product may be hazardous to your health."
In the U.S., there are now somewhere between 270 million and 310 million guns, according to the Pew Research Center — that's almost one gun for every person in the nation. Judges and legislators across the political spectrum recognize the constitutional right to bear arms. And gun and ammunition sales to private citizens are a significant part of a nearly $15 billion industry that's seeing plenty of growth: On... (GunPolicy.org)

Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun-rights advocates brought assault-style weapons into a downtown Dallas store during the weekend.
The Mexican fast-food company, based in Denver, said Monday evening that it has traditionally complied with local firearms laws, but that "the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our... (GunPolicy.org)

Suspects found guilty of owning an unregistered gun or a light weapon could soon be handed life sentences.
That's according to the National Commission on small arms and light weapons.
The commission is currently undertaking consultations to review the existing 1962 legislation to respond to current challenges.
For instance, proposals made for consideration includes one can apply to own a weapon at age 21 up from the current age of 18.
There is also a proposal to... (GunPolicy.org)

SAN FRANCISCO — It was John Zawahri's failure to pass a background check that prevented him from buying a firearm in California several years ago.
So the 23-year-old obtained an "unfinished receiver," the metal piece that holds the critical mechanisms that allow guns to fire, and built an assault rifle himself. Last summer, he went on a rampage at a college in Southern California, firing about 100 rounds and killing five people before police fatally shot... (GunPolicy.org)

As Jennifer Longdon steered her wheelchair through the Indianapolis airport on April 25, she thought the roughest part of her trip was over. Earlier that day she'd participated in an emotional press conference with the new group Everytown for Gun Safety, against the backdrop of the National Rifle Association's annual meeting. A mom, gun owner, and Second Amendment supporter, Longdon was paralyzed in 2004 after being shot in her car by unknown assailants, and has since... (GunPolicy.org)

Anyone who owns an airgun will need a licence under new measures proposed by the Scottish government.
The licensing system is included in a new bill that has been laid with the Scottish Parliament to impose tighter controls on air weapons.
The proposals follow a long-running campaign by the Scottish government to crack down on the misuse of airguns.
It followed the death of two-year-old Andrew Morton, who was shot in the head with an airgun in Glasgow in 2005.
Mark... (GunPolicy.org)

Changing gun ownership laws in Finland have resulted in a decrease in the number of permits issued. Last year just under 60,000 permits were issued, compared with more than 85,000 in 2007.
While the Finnish government has recommended changes to firearm ownership laws for this year - a move that the police believe will curb the general public's enthusiasm for applying for firearm permits - the numbers are already down.
Last year, 59,324 gun permits were issued whereas... (GunPolicy.org)

A string of hunting accidents is proof New Zealand's firearms laws need to be reviewed, a leading gun control advocate says.
In the past 10 years, 19 people have died and 57 have been injured by firearms.
A 44-year-old duck hunter suffered serious injuries after being shot in the elbow last Saturday. Another man, also 44, has been charged with careless use of a firearm causing injury and released on bail.
Kevin Clements, chairman of Peace and Conflict Studies at... (GunPolicy.org)

Residents could soon be able to get a concealed firearms permit if they meet certain qualifications, if the governor signs a bill that was passed into law by the Legislature yesterday.
Bill 296 would align Guam's firearms law with other jurisdictions and require the police department to issue concealed firearms permits to residents who meet certain requirements.
The bill was one of many that senators voted to pass during the last day of session yesterday. The bill... (GunPolicy.org)

South Dakota lawmaker Steve Hickey has 17 guns, a National Rifle Association card and a faith that pistol-packing residents make public places safer — except for the one where he works.
"We have the most contentious issues being debated in public policy, affecting people in irate, angrily ways and affecting millions and millions of dollars," Hickey said of the copper-domed capitol in Pierre, where he sponsored a law allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools.... (GunPolicy.org)

Tasmania Police needs to tighten controls on the disposal of guns and ammunition forfeited voluntarily or seized from criminals, an independent audit has recommended.
The state's Auditor General has reviewed the process used to get rid of more than 1000 firearms each year and found gaps in records of the amount of ammunition held.
Auditor-General Mike Blake said police complied with disposal requirements for guns, but needed to keep better records on the amount of... (GunPolicy.org)

Lawmakers in Minnesota and Louisiana overwhelmingly passed bills this month barring people convicted of domestic violence from possessing or purchasing firearms, both states joining a national movement to keep guns out of abusers' hands.
Minnesota's bill, signed by Gov. Mark Dayton into law Monday, would expand existing handgun restrictions for convicted abusers to include rifles and shotguns and also prohibit anyone subject to a temporary restraining order from... (GunPolicy.org)

Japanese police raided the home of 27-year-old Yoshitomo Imura as he was suspected of possessing firearms made with a 3-D printer, what is said to be the first arrest of this nature in Japan. Imura, a college employee, was found in possession of five 3-D printed guns, two of which were reportedly able to fire lethal bullets, this according to a report by the national broadcaster NHK.
The police said that they recovered a 3-D printer from Imura's home in Kawasaki, near... (GunPolicy.org)

More than 60 percent of store owners are pleading for a widening of the Weapons Law to allow for them to keep weapons in their shops in defense against the threat of robbers. One in five store owners questioned already has a weapon under the counter.
This comes out of research from EenVandaag, who questioned 1000 shop keepers. In most cases, owners want to have less-lethal weapons such as baseball bats, but more elaborate items such as iron bars and chair legs with... (GunPolicy.org)

There are no safeguards in Canadian firearms legislation to prevent people from purchasing a large number of handguns and then illegally transferring them to potential criminals.
It's an area of the law that gun control advocates say needs to be strengthened, and was recently highlighted after a Toronto man was sent to prison for legally purchasing 47 handguns from two stores over five months and then illegally transferring 43 of them to an acquaintance, who acted as a... (GunPolicy.org)

MISSOULA, Montana — Teenagers call it garage hopping. The goal was to sneak into an open garage, steal some beer or other items and slip away into the night. It was dumb and clearly illegal. It was not supposed to be deadly.
Around midnight on April 27, a 17-year-old exchange student from Germany named Diren Dede left the host home where he played Xbox and drained cans of Sprite to set off with a friend through his dark hillside neighborhood. They passed a home whose... (GunPolicy.org)

On the same day Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp, young mother Astheera Jagessar reported her boyfriend for holding a handgun to her forehead after she spoke to another man.
It all started when an electrician arrived at her boyfriend's house when she was alone there. She wasn't sure why he turned up, so she called her partner and told him to come home. When he arrived back after having a few drinks, he was furious and jealous that Astheera was speaking to a... (GunPolicy.org)

As Hillary Clinton mulls running for president in 2016, she has been careful to shy away from broad, sweeping policy declarations. But not Tuesday, when she delivered harsh criticism of gun culture in America and denounced the idea that "anybody can have a gun, anywhere, at any time."
Speaking at the National Council for Behavioral Health conference in Oxon Hill, Md., the former secretary of state didn't dispute Americans' right to own guns. But she said access to guns... (GunPolicy.org)

In the year and a half since 20 children were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a handful of states have passed laws requiring universal background checks, bans on semi-automatic weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines. But the U.S. remains a patchwork of uneven regulations on firearms, ammunition and gun owners. Meanwhile, at least 44 school shootings have occurred since the Newtown tragedy.
If state leaders want to curb... (GunPolicy.org)

Since January 1st 3,551 people have been killed by gun violence in America, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The victims include Endia Martin, a 14-year-old girl, who was shot in the back in Chicago last week after an argument with a former friend over a boy. The weapon that was used to kill Martin, a .38 special revolver, began as a legal gun, reports the Chicago Tribune, but somehow it made its way to into this adolescent tussle, turning a flare up between young... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the nation's gun culture has gotten "way out of balance" and the U.S. needs to rein in the notion that "anybody can have a gun, anywhere, anytime."
The former secretary of state and potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate said the idea that anyone can have a gun is not in the "best interest of the vast majority of people." But she said that approach does not conflict with the rights of people to own... (GunPolicy.org)

Presented with an opportunity to expand gun rights, the U.S. Supreme Court took a powder today. It refused to hear a challenge to gun regulation in New Jersey, repeating a pattern of declining every such opportunity since it decided major gun-rights cases in 2008 and 2010.
It wasn't supposed to go this way - not in the world according to gun-rights advocates. The New Jersey case arose from a decision by an appeals court panel, which had upheld the state's ban on... (GunPolicy.org)

When Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed his state's so-called guns everywhere law, it marked the latest in a string of legislative defeats for gun-control activists. Since the December 2012 Sandy Hook murders, 20 states have loosened gun laws. Georgia has now upped the ante with a bill that allows people to carry concealed weapons into bars, churches, schools and airports and prohibits law enforcement from requiring someone to show their gun owner's license .
To be sure,... (GunPolicy.org)

ATLANTA - Andy Raymond, a Rockland, Md., firearms dealer, found out how much some people who love guns and the Second Amendment really hate some guns, causing the owner of Engage Armament this week to reverse his plan to sell the Armatix iP1, the nation's first "smart" gun.
The German-made Armatix iP1 won't fire unless it's in proximity of a special watch, thus making it useless if stolen. Gun control advocates, including Attorney General Eric Holder, have cited such... (GunPolicy.org)

In April of this year, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 60, a bill which expands the ability to carry firearms in public spaces such as bars and airports. The media was quick to report that this bill is evidence of a backlash against the many significant gun violence prevention laws enacted in the states last year, despite the media's predominant narrative from last year that, after Newtown, more states weakened gun laws and the gun lobby "won". The truth is that... (GunPolicy.org)

A Rockville gun store owner who said he would sell the nation's first smart gun — even after a California gun store removed the weapon from its shelves to placate angry gun-rights activists — backed down late Thursday night after enduring a day of protests and death threats.
Andy Raymond, the co-owner of Engage Armament, a store known for its custom assault rifles, had said earlier this week that offering the Armatix iP1 handgun was a "really tough decision" after... (GunPolicy.org)

Last week, as the National Rifle Association geared up for its annual meeting in Indianapolis, a spokesperson summed up the group's base. "Everyone thinks our strength comes from our money. It doesn't," Andrew Arulanandam told the Indianapolis Star. "Our strength is truly in our membership. We have a savvy and loyal voting bloc." The NRA regularly cites its devoted 4-5 million members as evidence of its clout and relevance. Yet while the gun lobby publicly extols its... (GunPolicy.org)

Another virtual diss has turned into a real-life tragedy.
A Facebook feud between two 14-year-old girls over a boy ended when one gunned down the other on a Southside Chicago porch in broad daylight Monday afternoon, police said.
The unnamed teen perp, who has been charged with murder as a juvenile, whipped out a stolen .38-caliber handgun about 4:50 p.m. and tried to shoot into a crowd of people. The gun jammed and the girl handed it to someone else, who cleared the... (GunPolicy.org)

An unemployed Auckland man spent $50,000 on firearms then sold them to gang members and other criminals.
Peter James Edwards purchased 74 rifles and shotguns in just 18 months, then "pimped" the weapons by cutting down the barrel or stock and adding pistol grips and silencers.
The pistol-sized firearms, which are easily carried and concealed, are highly prized in the criminal fraternity and the case has highlighted how easily guns can fall into the wrong... (GunPolicy.org)

Political donations to groups supporting gun control have overtaken money raised by the National Rifle Association and its allies in the 16 months since the Newtown school shooting, according to latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Though campaign finance experts say officially-declared money is the tip of the iceberg for both sides, the limited public figures available suggest recent efforts to build grassroots organisations to rival the political... (GunPolicy.org)

Have we gone stark raving mad?
The question is brought to mind by the gun law signed last week in Georgia by Gov. Nathan Deal. You might have thought that since the United States couldn't possibly have more permissive firearms laws than it does now, nothing more could be done to coddle the gun lobby and tip the balance of our statutes away from law enforcement. Alas, you would be wrong.
The creativity of the National Rifle Association and other organizations devoted... (GunPolicy.org)

Eighteen years ago today, a lone gunman brandishing semi-automatic firearms shot dead 35 people and wounded 23 others at Port Arthur in Tasmania.
Most of us would remember where we were when we first heard that news. But nearly two decades on, there are young people who may have never have heard of this massacre. Tighter gun laws in Australia have meant no gun mass killings in their lifetimes.
Recent statistics on gun ownership from Gun Control Australia reveal that... (GunPolicy.org)

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Belinda Padilla does not pick up unknown calls anymore, not since someone posted her cellphone number on an online forum for gun enthusiasts. A few fuming-mad voice mail messages and heavy breathers were all it took.
Then someone snapped pictures of the address where she has a P.O. box and put those online, too. In a crude, cartoonish scrawl, this person drew an arrow to the blurred image of a woman passing through the photo frame.... (GunPolicy.org)

After Congress failed to pass gun reform last year, the debate over gun violence and Second Amendment rights has largely moved from Washington DC to state capitals. That debate heated up after the December 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Last year, lawmakers in Connecticut and Colorado – another state rocked by a mass shooting in 2012 – passed sweeping new gun-control measures. In January 2013, New York enacted a law... (GunPolicy.org)

SANTA ANA, California — Pete Alexander celebrated the news that a federal court in California had thrown out this state's strict requirements for obtaining a concealed-handgun permit — among the toughest in the nation — by calling the Orange County Sheriff's Department to apply for a permit he had long wanted.
"I'm a gun enthusiast," said Mr. Alexander, a construction contractor who lives in Fullerton. "Crime is encroaching on our neighborhood, and I don't feel... (GunPolicy.org)

BURLINGTON, Skagit County — For more than 65 years, Kesselring Gun Shop has been a firearms fixture in the Northwest, arming hunters, target shooters and police from one of the largest inventories on the West Coast.
Until surrendering its federal firearms license last October, the family-owned gun store also may have been the worst gun retailer in America.
It was nearly a decade ago when inspectors with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)... (GunPolicy.org)

Last Friday The New York Times finally addressed a conflict of interest that it had been ignoring for years. Although, among the powerful institutions that have long done so, the Times is hardly alone. The matter helps illustrate how the gun lobby has managed to shape the nation's gun debate without showing its hand. The news comes to light one day before the start of the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Indianapolis.
David Kopel is the Research... (GunPolicy.org)

Earlier this week, Turkey saw two terrifying incidents in which stray bullets caused injury and, in one case, the death of a 24-year-old. Erkan Bektaş, a waiter who was leaving work at a café in İstanbul's Beşiktaş district at 5 a.m., was shot in the head by a stray bullet when he was walking down the street. The individual who shot him was caught up in a bar fight. The dispute, which the young waiter was not involved in, had reportedly erupted among a group of men... (GunPolicy.org)

ELLIJAY, GA - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a wide-ranging gun bill into law Wednesday that has critics howling and proponents applauding.
House Bill 60, or the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014 - which opponents have nicknamed the "guns everywhere bill" - specifies where Georgia residents can carry weapons. Included are provisions that allow residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones, government buildings and... (GunPolicy.org)

BUNKERVILLE, Nev. — Cliven Bundy stood by the Virgin River up the road from the armed checkpoint at the driveway of his ranch, signing autographs and posing for pictures. For 55 minutes, Mr. Bundy held forth to a clutch of supporters about his views on the troubled state of America — the overreaching federal government, the harassment of Western ranchers, the societal upheaval caused by abortion, even musing about whether slavery was so bad.
Most of all, Mr. Bundy,... (GunPolicy.org)

MOSCOW – Japan's upper house of parliament, the House of Councillors, unanimously approved Wednesday a bill providing for the country's accession to the UN Arms Trade Treaty, the NHK channel reported.
The Japanese government now expects a fast ratification of the treaty, although no specific date on its implementation has yet been announced.
The Arms Trade Treaty, adopted at the UN General Assembly last year, is the first international pact regulating commerce in... (GunPolicy.org)

Federal funding for research on gun violence has been restricted for nearly two decades. President Obama urged Congress to allocate $10 million for new research after the Newtown school shooting. But House Republicans say they won't approve it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's budget still lists zero dollars for research on gun violence prevention.
One of the researchers who lost funding in the political battle over studying firearms was Dr. Garen... (GunPolicy.org)

His name is ReadySetGo, and for $250 he can get you a gun straight out of a James Bond movie.
It is an easily concealed plastic handgun that fires a plastic - but lethal - bullet and cannot be detected by X-rays and metal scanners.
Or there is OzGun, who for $3,950 can source a single Glock 17s, the gun favoured by Australian law enforcement.
OzGun can also get you ammunition, while ReadySetGo will provide barrels for his firearms in a variety of calibres: 9mm, .380,... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON - For nearly a decade, the National Rifle Association successfully blocked a bill in Washington state that would have required alleged domestic abusers to surrender their firearms after being served with a protective order. Only those actually convicted of felony domestic violence, the nation's largest gun lobby argued, should be made to forfeit their gun rights.
This past year, the NRA changed its tune. As the bill, HB 1840, once again moved through the... (GunPolicy.org)

After the Sandy Hook school shooting, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) was one of a few congressional Republicans who expressed a willingness to reconsider the need for gun control laws.
"Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table," he said less than a week after the Newtown shootings. He told a local TV station that he wanted to see more research done to understand mass shootings. "Let's let the data lead rather than our... (GunPolicy.org)

Criminals are using a legal loophole to import guns into Britain for use in street shootings and robberies, the Standard can reveal.
They are exploiting legislation allowing people to own firearms legally if the weapons are classified as "antiques", according to police and officials.
The guns — which detectives say are lethal weapons — are brought from Europe, where they are easily and legally bought at antique arms fairs. Police say they are also being traded in... (GunPolicy.org)

Three days after Frazier Glenn Miller tried to kill some of the Jews he has spent his life despising (the self-styled paramilitary warrior actually wound up gunning down three Christians instead), the National Rifle Association's website remains silent about the attacks.
Instead, the site features, among other things, a Fox News appearance by the NRA's chief legislative lobbyist about the need to defeat Barack Obama's nominee for surgeon general.
The nominee, a doctor... (GunPolicy.org)

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to spend $50 million this year on a new group that will mix campaign contributions with field operations aimed at pulling 1 million gun-control supporters to the polls, he announced Wednesday, adding a new dimension to his long-running fight for tighter firearms regulation.
The new organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, plans to mobilize voters to back candidates and ballot measures supporting such causes as enhancing... (GunPolicy.org)

ISLAMABAD – Gul Sher, 31, is busy cleaning his unlicenced AK-47 rifle. He is at his home in the outskirts of Mianwali, Punjab Province.
"Keeping rifles or other small weapons is part of our culture here," Gul said. "Our elders say, 'Weapons are men's jewellry'. Without them we feel alone and insecure."
Keeping unlicenced weapons is illegal, but Gul isn't alone. Many in his small town do so as well.
Illegal trade, but law goes unenforced
Keeping prohibited or... (GunPolicy.org)

Bad charts make us really sad.
Here's the original, with an inverted Y-axis.
Business Insider fixed it like this.
But we prefer our version, with Piers Morgan bravely fighting for gun control in the States in the face of The Terminator. It makes more sense that way.
The original point of the graphic was to show the effect of a change in the gun laws in Florida.
After the "stand your ground" laws were enacted in 2005 the number of deaths rose almost... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The push and pull over the Second Amendment right to bear arms is heating up again, thanks in part to a former Supreme Court justice's new book.
Friday, the high court will consider whether to hear a challenge to a New Jersey law restricting the right to carry guns in public. If the court grants the petition, it would be the most important gun control case since the justices upheld the right to keep handguns at home for self-defense in 2008.
While the... (GunPolicy.org)

The song blasts from two speakers placed either side of a beige canopy: "Guns, whether Remingtons and Glocks / Come on man it ain't like I'm a slingin' 'em on the block / I'm gonna tell you once, and listen son / As long as I'm alive and breathing, You won't take my guns."
Under the canopy is a table full of T-shirts and baseball caps embossed with the words "Open Carry Texas". And gathered around that are a handful of people with AK-47 or AR-15 semi-automatic rifles... (GunPolicy.org)

Gun ownership laws are a heated topic across the United States due to the constitutional issues involved. From a public health perspective it is however clear that guns are dangerous. With guns, suicide becomes the biggest problem, reports MedPage Today on April 11, 2014. In fact every single day 88 people die from a firearm associated injury and about two-thirds of those deaths are due to suicides.
Researchers have reported a very high proportion of gun associated... (GunPolicy.org)

With last month's controversy over Vivek Murthy's nomination for surgeon general still fresh, the nation's second-largest physicians group reaffirmed Thursday that it considers firearm violence a public health issue and issued a wide-ranging set of recommendations to address the deaths and injuries caused by guns.
The timing appears to be coincidental. But like Murthy — whose nomination was blocked in large part by a National Rifle Association offensive over his... (GunPolicy.org)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Strict gun laws in foreign countries mean many in America's overseas military communities feel safer than they would at home, although they're divided over whether tougher rules would reduce gun violence in the U.S.
"For the most part, I feel safer over here because we're not allowed to bring guns," Sgt. Roseann Baena, a 26-year-old soldier assigned to Europe Regional Dental Command in Sembach, Germany, said Tuesday.
Her comment was typical... (GunPolicy.org)

The announcement of the discovery in Cameroon of a large cache of arms and ammunition intended for Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria is regarded in some quarters as government propaganda.
There was alarm in northern Cameroon when it was announced in early April that two Italian priests and a nun had been kidnapped by suspected members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is waging an insurgency in neighboring Nigeria.
The whereabouts of the three are still unknown.... (GunPolicy.org)

More Mexicans are acquiring arms to defend their families and property. According to a university researcher, the number of firearms legally possessed in Mexico increased 53 percent from 2009 to 2012, jumping from 2,033,749 to 3,118,592 guns.
Ernesto Villanueva, a researcher for the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Institute of Legal Research, based his findings on data from the Mexican Defense Ministry (Sedena), which is in charge of registering firearms.... (GunPolicy.org)

There is no law regulating the number of fire arms one can purchase in Ghana. For as long one is prepared to register more than two guns in his name, the law permits him to carry on.
But considering the spate of crime that has recently taken place in Ghana, a Deputy Commissioner of the Ghana Police Service believes it is about time the nation reviews individual ownership of firearms.
DCOP Christian Tetteh Yohonu, in an interview with Okay FM recounted that very... (GunPolicy.org)

A man convicted of firearms offences who went on the run after being released on licence has been arrested in Cyprus.
Louis Larsson, 29, from Bolton, was arrested in Paphos, the popular holiday resort in the south of the island, after a joint operation by Greater Manchester Police and the National Crime Agency.
It is understood armed Cypriot police were also involved in the arrest.
In 2010, Larsson, admitted a series of firearms offences after he mail-ordered gun... (GunPolicy.org)

The immeasurably tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., which left 20 children and six adults dead in December 2012, horrified the world and briefly ignited a debate about gun control. Nine months later, the debate was held all over again after the mass shooting at a US Navy Yard in Washington, DC that killed 13 people.
America's most recent mass shooting took place Wednesday evening at Fort Hood Army base in Texas. The base was also the... (GunPolicy.org)

The New Caledonian government says it's opposed to tighter gun laws as France suggested a limit of four hunting rifles per person.
Paris vowed last year to restrict gun ownership by March but the government of Harold Martin says such a step will only cause more political problems.
After the law change was signalled last year, the French high commissioner Jean-Jacques Brot said sales had doubled while the local press said weapon sales had grown tenfold.
There are... (GunPolicy.org)

Authorities confirmed the loaded handgun that an American pilot is accused of attempting to bring through Calgary airport security was a personal weapon.
In addition, he was not part of a federal program that allows certain trained flight crew members to be armed on flights.
The pilot with SkyWest Airlines was arrested after screening officers at the U.S. security checkpoint discovered what appeared to be a loaded firearm in a bag that was passing through an X-ray... (GunPolicy.org)

UNITED NATIONS — Eighteen countries, including five of the world's leading arms exporters, ratified a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Wednesday, giving a significant boost to the campaign for the treaty's entry into force.
The ambassadors of the 18 countries handed over the documents at a U.N. ceremony on the first anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is aimed at stemming the global... (GunPolicy.org)

In a bid to provide alternative livelihood for local manufacturers of light weapons such as shotguns, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) has registered some 1,500 Blacksmiths in the Mano River Basin as pilot beneficiaries aimed at achieving that objective.
The exercise, also aimed at reducing the impact of armed violence in the four-member country sub regional organization, was recently announced by the Programme Manager of AOAV, Francis Owane-Addo at the launch of the... (GunPolicy.org)

More residents in Guam may soon be able to carry concealed firearms if a bill introduced into its legislature is passed.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, was introduced into Parliament by Senator Tony Ada.
Co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Aline Yamashita, has told Pacific Beat that at present 50 per cent of residents in the US territory who apply for a permit to carry a concealed firearm are unsuccessful.
She says the Second Amendment to the US Constitution... (GunPolicy.org)

NEW DELHI - While gun laws in India are strict, local police are battling a growing problem of illegal firearms.
It is a major concern in the lead-up to the general elections, along with illicit liquor.
Firearms made in the countryside are bought in bulk by local political workers.
Ahead of the general elections which are due in a fortnight, the guns are used for protection in clashes, or to intimidate rural voters.
The police and the Election Commission maintain a... (GunPolicy.org)

Facebook increasingly used to sell arms
Sitting among friends inside the arms shop he owns in the well-known Jahana arms market, Ali Awla busily posts photos of newly-arrived arms on his Facebook page.
Several types of weapons are carefully hung inside the shop to attract customers.
The Jahana arms market, which is located about 25 kilometers from Sana'a, is home to over 40 stores selling an impossibly wide range of weapons and body armor, including rocket-propelled... (GunPolicy.org)

ALBANY - The head of New York's largest firearms organization is skipping a planned Tuesday Capitol protest of the state's tougher gun control laws enacted last year, saying he fears the rhetoric at such gatherings is becoming more "contentious and threatening."
Thomas King, a national NRA board member and president of the state Rifle & Pistol Association, argues that the angry and inflammatory rhetoric only hurts the cause of gun lovers.
"Let all these other groups... (GunPolicy.org)

Fifteen months ago, as the nation recoiled in horror from the massacre of 20 children and six adults by a mentally ill man armed with three semiautomatic weapons, there were firm proclamations that this time would be different. The violence at that Newtown, Conn., elementary school, it was said, would finally lead the nation to come together and embrace some reasonable gun control laws.
Well, that didn't last long. If anything, the national gun frenzy, fueled by the... (GunPolicy.org)

A new Georgia gun law will extend the state's stand-your-ground legislation to protect convicted felons who kill using illegal guns, under what one criminal law expert calls a "recipe for unnecessary killing".
The bill, called HS60, was passed by the state legislature last week and is now awaiting governor Nathan Deal's signature. It was promoted by state Republicans for offering greater protection to law-abiding citizens. But lawyers, the state association of chiefs... (GunPolicy.org)

The Supreme Court has been asked to nullify certain provisions in the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013 for alleged violation of constitutional rights.
In separate petitions, Gun Owners in Action (GO Act) and Peaceful Respondent Owners of Guns Inc. (PRO Gun) said obtaining firearm licenses have become more difficult.
GO Act board members and licensed gun owners Eric Acosta and Nathaniel Dela Paz assailed at least five sections of the law... (GunPolicy.org)

Revelations of the theft of firearms from Victorian MP Peter Crisp's farm draws attention to a genuine but often overlooked link between farm crime and criminal events in urban communities.
Discussions with farm communities and Victoria Police over recent months show there is a growing trade in firearms stolen from farms across rural and regional areas by criminal elements. Police in Western Australia are also aware of the link between guns stolen from rural properties... (GunPolicy.org)

Every year guns are used to kill thousands of people, and not always the bad guys. For decades, doctors and other public health experts have argued that preventing gun deaths, particularly from accidents and suicides, should be a priority — like curtailing car fatalities or tobacco use. For their sense, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and others on the pro-gun side have pilloried them, ruining careers and stopping needed research with the help of a cowed... (GunPolicy.org)

The Georgia House passed a sweeping gun bill late Thursday night that allows firearms in bars, nightclubs, school classrooms and certain government buildings that lack security personnel or devices.
Lawmakers moved the bill through the House during the last hour of the night on Thursday, meeting their midnight deadline before the end of the current legislative session. If signed by the state's governor, the law will give religious leaders the option to "opt-in" to... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — In recent years, the National Rifle Assn. has stepped into fights over judicial nominees it views as weak on 2nd Amendment rights, but its decision to oppose a surgeon general nominee takes the powerful lobby into new territory, expanding its campaign to a post that has no direct power to regulate guns.
President Obama's nominee, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, a Massachusetts internist and former emergency room doctor, has called for more stringent gun laws. But... (GunPolicy.org)

NAIROBI, Kenya - The Chief Firearms Licensing office in Nairobi has been closed on a temporary basis.
Police seconded to the bureau were told to take leave until further notice.
The move came even as Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and his deputy Grace Kaindi named Boniface Maingi as the new head of firearms licensing section.
The Chief Firearms Licensing officer Francis Wanjohi was moved to police headquarters amid protest from firearms dealers.
Mr... (GunPolicy.org)

Few Americans have likely heard of Vivek Murthy, President Obama's nominee to be the nation's Surgeon General. But let me tell you, this guy has got some pretty nutty views.
Don't believe me. Listen to what the National Rifle Association has to say about him: "Dr Murthy's record of political activism in support of radical gun control measures raises significant concerns."
"Radical gun control measures"! Go on.
Murthy has some crazy, crazy ideas about guns. For... (GunPolicy.org)

Turkish Airlines has denied reports that it has been bringing arms into Nigeria which might have found its way to the Northeast, where Boko Haram militants have caused violence.
"Turkish Airlines has not been involved in any carriage of arms to that country (Nigeria) from Turkey nor from any country," the airline said in a statement yesterday.
The reports stem from a leaked tape, where Mehmet Karatas, an assistant executive of the airline, allegedly tells Mustafa... (GunPolicy.org)

For a sense of how extreme some gun-rights advocates have become — and why Congress won't pass even modest firearms safety laws — consider what happened to history professor and longtime gun enthusiast Dick Metcalf. When he recently wrote in his Guns & Ammo column that the Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms" is not unlimited, Metcalf suddenly became the enemy.
Readers reacted in fury, and gun makers threatened an advertising boycott. The magazine quickly... (GunPolicy.org)